Stu is visiting from France this week, so we decided to catch up over a hike up to Cloggy. It has been years since we'd both visited this crag, so given the conditions and both having a free day, we decided to check it out. After a leisurely start and a brew at Pete's Eats, we hiked up the Snowdon path in the sunshine, to the base of the shady crag.
After abandoning plans for our initial objective, we set our sights on Jelly Roll. I led the first pitch and Stu took the lead on the top two. A climber in front of us took an impressive headfirst fall off the top pitch, ripping out bits of gear along the way. Thankfully, he came to a halt before making contact with the belay ledge and avoided any major injuries. Another climber took a huge fall down the Great Slab, on some marginal protection, which thankfully held, although his helmet was smashed. We stayed steady and secure!
The final pitch was the finale of the route and required a good amount of stamina to hang on. Stu looked solid, but when I came to follow, it soon became apparent that I only had a limited amount of time until my fingers would hold me no longer!
There was a good amount of grunting, straining with a general sense of urgency as I ploughed on up. Some sneaky bridging moves gave my arms a rest in the end, but it was a close run thing!
While others were sweating their way up Snowdon in the sun, I had my hat and fleece on in the shade of the cliffs. After negotiating the eastern terrace descent route, we decided to stroll back to the village for a pint (of tea, at Pete's), rather than turn a nice day out into a late evening return!
It was good to have been up at Cloggy and it kept it's reputation for being hard and cold! Much more to do, but I'll have to drop the grade a bit or get stronger!
Cloggy:
- Jelly Roll, E2 (5b)***
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